Each year the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences invites countries to submit a single film for consideration in the competitive category of Best Foreign Language Film. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION is a choice sampling of these submissions, curated by California Film Institute, offering a rare opportunity to view some of the most distinguished works in world cinema.

The FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Series epitomizes our continued mission to celebrate the art of film and demonstrates our dedication to showcasing original voices in independent cinema.

This exciting series is available via CineConductor.
THE FENCER will be available as a stand-alone title from CFI Releasing in Spring, 2017.

AFTERIMAGE

Poland’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

Click image to view trailer

In a finale to an illustrious moviemaking career, director Andrzej Wajda (who passed away in October) charts the life of the passionate artist Wladyslaw Strzeminski, who battled Stalinist orthodoxy and his own physical impairments to advance his progressive ideas about art. Strzeminski was considered a peer of Kandinsky and a pioneer of the Polish Constructivist avant-garde of the 1920s and 30s. In Polish with English subtitles. 98 min.

APPRENTICE

Singapore’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

Click image to view trailer

Aiman, an ambitious young correctional officer, will do anything it takes to be transferred to Singapore’s highest-security prison. His drive to become apprentice to the chief executioner Rahim is born of a desire to reconnect with a past that haunts him. Award winning Director Boo Jenfeng’s stylized tale dazzled audiences at Cannes last May. In Malay with English Subtitles. 97 min.

THE BLACK HEN (KALO POTHI)

Nepal’s submission for the 88th Academy Awards®, 2016

Click image to view trailer

Mixing humor, tragedy and beautiful fantasy, first time writer/director Min Bahadur Bham borrows from his own experience growing up in a segregated village in Northern Nepal during the Maoist insurgency. The story centers on two boys, inseparable friends divided by caste, who concoct a plan to sell the eggs of a prized and pampered black hen. In Nepali with English subtitles. 90 minutes.

AWARDS: Fedeora Award, Best Film (International Film Critics Week), 2015 Venice Film Festival

FIRE AT SEA (FUOCOAMMARE)

Italy’s submission for the 88th Academy Awards®, 2016

Click image to view trailer

Gianfranco Rosi’s stunning documentary focuses on the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa, a key entry point for refugees fleeing war and persecution in Africa. Brilliantly juxtaposing the lives of local residents like young Samuele, a slingshot aficionado and his doting grandmother, with heart-wrenching portraits of the refugees, Fire at Sea reveals the subtle connections between the micro and macro realities of our globalized world. In Italian with English subtitles. 114 min.

A FLICKERING TRUTH

New Zealand’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

Click image to view trailer

An extraordinary documentary that literally blows the dust off of 100 years of conflict, revealing cinematic gems of the Afghani film archives that were ravaged, burned and banned by Taliban interdiction. As brave archivists thread projectors with film from unmarked reels, the country’s rich history comes alive with images of former leaders, beloved actresses, and landmarks now gone. In Dari with English subtitles. 93 min.

AWARDS: Best Documentary, Bergen International Film Festival; Documentary Award, The WIFTS Foundation International Visionary Award 2015

I AM NOJOOM, AGE 10 AND DIVORCED

Yemen’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

Click image to view trailer

Amid strikingly beautiful and stark landscapes, this true story of underage marriage reflects the painful reality of Yemeni tribal culture and the vulnerability of girls. Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, Nojoom escapes her family and files for divorce in court. Wiser than her years, she has unshakeable resolve. In Arabic with English subtitles. Writer/Director: Khadija Al-Salami. 99 minutes.

PARADISE

Russia’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

Click image to view trailer

This striking period drama by Andrei Konchalovsky (Runaway Train) reveals the price of loyalty to one’s convictions. Russian noblewoman Olga is arrested and imprisoned in occupied France for sheltering Jewish children. She ends up in a concentration camp where she rekindles a romance with Helmut, now a Nazi SS officer. Seeing that the tide of war is quickly turning against the Nazis, they plot their escape. In French, German & Russian with English subtitles. 131 min

TANNA

Australia’s submission for the 89th Academy Awards®, 2017

Click image to view trailer

Venice Film Festival winner Tanna is the tale of young lovers caught between the traditions and taboos of their tribe and following the desires of their hearts. Co-directors Bentley Dean and Martin Butler spent 7 months with the Yakel people of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, developing a collaborative script based on actual events. The results are sensuous, magical and unforgettable. In Nauvhal with English subtitles. 104 min.